Barts Grill
21 Wokingham Road
Reading RG6 1LE
0118 966 2268 or
0118 966 2233
www.bartsgrill.com
If you’ve ever driven into Reading via the Wokingham Road, you’ll probably have driven past Barts Grill and Restaurant and wondered what it’s like.
Amazing. That’s what it’s like.
We recently visited one Sunday lunchtime to give its new autumn menu a test drive. With two fussy and young eaters in tow, there was no stone that was to be left unturned in this quest.
First impressions are important, particularly when you’re an independent restaurant like Barts. Your reputation lives and falls on whether the place is clean and tidy – you’ll be hard pressed to find a speck of dust here and the welcome is warm.
Shown to our tables, our children had a look over their menu: two courses plus a soft drink for £7.50 at weekends before 6pm. Our two chose tomato soup, served with crusty bread. Now this could have been a disaster but they lapped it up.
Both chose fish goujons for their mains, which came with baked beans and exceptionally large and exceptionally fluffy chips.
For children’s portions, they were huge and our two made a valiant effort to scoff the lot, but had to admit defeat. They did, however, manage to find space for some ice cream.
Us adults started with a sharing platter of filo pastry nachos (£6.95 to share). Generously topped with sour cream, guacamole and tomato salsa we could have feasted on these alone. No amount of trying to convince the fussy eaters that the guacamole was like mushy peas would persuade them to try it though.
My vegetarian wife chose the Roasted English Goat’s Cheese Salad (£9.85). Served on an olive oil croute, it came with a crispy mixed leaf salad, tomatoes and caramelised walnuts. It looked and tasted fantastic and is just one of several vegetarian options. Barts staff will also work with diners to create custom dishes and there are also fish options too.
When it came to my main course choice I had to go for the when in Rome option … so I tried an 8oz rump steak (£13.50) – you can also chose a 16oz sirloin or rib eye (£25.50), which you should probably get a medal if you finish. All steaks have been aged for a minimum of 28 days and provided by local butchers.
Steaks come with one side, a vegetable accompaniment and sauces are an option £1.50 each. All tastes are catered for, including the intriguing red wine sauce. Surf and turf options are on offer: an extra £4.95 will get you two garlic tiger prawns.
The steak was fantastic. Cooked medium rare as requested and the meat was not fatty. The cowboy fries were skinny ‘uns while the cauliflower cheese sauce was a little watery but still tasty. At just £15 for the whole main course, that’s incredible value.
The menu also includes gourmet burgers, including the 10oz Barts Stack Burger (£14.95) which sounds amazing: burger with lettuce, onion jam, red onion, gherkins, chilli pickle, tomato, slice of cheese and home made relish. That’s lip-smacking.
And if that’s not enough, the adventurous can try kangaroo, ostrich or camel skewers, although booking in advance for these is advised.
In the interests of research, despite happy bellies, we also opted for puddings. The signature dish is a bread and butter pudding (£5.50), but we went for the sublime sticky toffee pudding (£5.95) and a delicious tart lemon tart (£5.50). The lemon compote did nothing for me, but others may enjoy its sharp, bitter taste. The tart however was a triumph.
Barts is open daily for lunches and dinners and serves Sunday roasts between noon and 5pm on Sunday. A lot of people were opting for these large platefuls when we visited.
Add in cocktails (half price before 9pm), mocktails, a great wine list and some intriguing beers in the fridge and you’ve got a great restaurant.
Free parking is in nearby Palmer Park Stadium or, if you live within five miles of the restaurant, it offers a ‘door-to-door’ service for four people for £15, a great idea that means no one has to be the designated driver.
So, don’t drive past it again without stopping. You won’t regret it.
